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Boss Shriek
'Boss Shriek' 'Personality' Self-important, ambitious, and prideful, Shriek fancies himself a professional and a businessman. He is scheming and pitiless, (of that we have no doubt,) but what distinguishes him from his raving troops is his ability to repress the urge to kill everything, and assess what course of action would bear the most profit. He is courteous towards prospective clients (while they have something to offer), but even with them he is prone to practice intrigue. Aside from that, he is highly temperamental, and often basks in the arrogance of his position. It is Boss Shriek. He’ll make you remember that. (Terror at 3 feet tall!) 'History' Boss Maul(, or King Kinsbane,) is the longest standing Warlord, nay, King of the goblin tribes. He wears the crown Belligerence forged from the seething hatred of demonkind, to hide his face so that the lionhearted among him wilt not to babes 'pon the sight of his unmasked fury. An imp once stole his helm and fled to the Forest of Dreams, whereupon the nightmares that hunted them in the pursuit could bring him no harm- as there was nothing more terrible they could conjure than what was already present in Boss Maul's mind. The very goblins which follow him become frenzied madmen whilest in his prolonged company, and no Boss dares usurp his authority for fear of being torn limb from limb by Maul's bare hands. Ogres bow to his strength. Paladins cower before him. Should you ever witness the rage that he has perfected, and keep your wits about you, you will have out-willed countless men who lay in shreds no larger than blades of grass across the countyside. Fortunately for the rest of us, Kinsbane does not give two hoots for the affairs you and I. Content with his conquest and unchallengeable on his throne, he rests in his distant and underground domain, while his subordinates compete for his favor. His lesser generals, the “Bosses,” have each taken a legion of their own and ventured into the world with hopes of carving out a conquest for themselves. Boss Shriek is one of them. He hopes to raise a tribute of 100,000,000,000 (one hundred billion) gold pieces. Now, I’ll inform you that Shriek and his men are not the disciplined militants that the Goblin King commands; nor is he of the swift and mighty bugbears such as those under Boss Rend. He and his legion are goblins. They are not the quasi-rational OotS goblins- they are the rabid misbegotten lunatics who come in droves and whose heights range from your thigh to your knee. Not the brightest. Not the bravest. But certainly violent And sneaky And numerous. 'Current Disguise' Boss Shriek is currently disguised as 'Baron Shahaj,' an Eraf (plural = "Erafrim"). Erafrim of course do not exist, but the story is as follows: “Have you heard, my friend? The Erafrim had arrived. Desert folk forced out of their homes by human raids, and begrudgingly forced to dwell amongst us as a central hub of merchantry. No man had known of these tunnelers before the attacks, and none shall know their faces now- each suffering terrible maims during the assault. It comes as no surprise that they are nervous- even angry around their perceived human oppressors, And all who approach must subject themselves to the keen eyes of their guard And worse, the sharp tongue of their Baron.” – 122nd District gate officer. They currently wear wraps and turbans and manners of robes to cover themselves entirely, and Boss Shriek distinguishes himself with an engraved silver mask. Their banners are sable and ruby. 'Advantages' Boss Shriek is currently in command of several hundred goblins, as well as roughly a dozen Ogres (see the story element below), some of which are in possession of four onager-catapults. He so eloquently solved the problem of the phalanx by ensuring there were so many pike-carriers that they were impossible to maneuver around; where they could not position themselves in time, his cavalry of dreaded war-ponies could. I'll hold off on detailing his tactics/loadouts, but I assure you they are all frivolous and silly, every one of them. Goblins: (Conditional) I - Gadzooks Batman, that's a lot of them! Whether it be charging with hundred and hundreds of pikes or unleashing a rain of arrows, Outnumber And Overwhelm is the motto of this army, and you can be sure whatever it attacks it will do so in swarms. As with any quantitative attribute, these combatants are not as skilled individually, though they operate very well when united on the mass scale. Goblins:Numerous will act as a common advantage while the army is divided, and a rare one in full force. Goblins: (uncommon) I - It is only goblin nature to creep and tiptoe about. Some of the troops of Boss Shriek's army have developed this talent, becoming rogues capable to some degree of stealth and disguise. They are commonly referred to as "Sneaks." Ogres: (Rare) I - The ogres and catapults under Boss Shriek's command are especially good at attacking walls and structures. They can, to a much lesser degree, attempt to hit a large group of people (perhaps with a load full of alchemist's fire,) but are essentially useless on any pinpoint targets- let alone anything up close. Leadership: Inspire frenzy (II)(Uncommon) – Being cannon fodder is hard! Let’s face it, goblins are hardly durable, and without the proper motivation they scare very easily. For all the things they’re bad at, though, they are very igood/i at being murderous lunatics, and it is this quality which Boss Shriek brings out most. Be it his guttural warcries or his pompous attitude, so long as the goblins have ione/i confident psychopath to look to, they can resume their homicidal mindset in bliss. It is up to him to make them believe in victory, and he is skilled at inciting them into a fervor. Cunning I (Common) - I'll remind you that Shriek is a businessman, and a very dirty one at that. Goblins are never good duking things out blow-for-blow, and it takes a degree of subterfuge to keep casualties low. As low as possible, anyway. Shriek will almost never attempt a straight assault or make a deal without some sort of “orchestrated handicap.” 'Linked Story Elements' Goblins - See History. Their goblin hordes were once notorious for their volatile nature and their penchant for war, but their raids have become a thing of the past since their withdrawal into the underground. The exact memory of the goblins has faded in more civilized lands, some of which have not seen the creatures in over a decade. Goblins come in a range of shapes and sizes, each specialized breed designated by their own prefix- with the most common and numerous variety simply referred to as Goblins. The goblins adapt well to most locales, their skins evolving to colors that lend some natural camouflage; those in wooded areas often turn green, while those in the underground turn varying shades of yellow or red. This evolution is accelerated by the rapid rate at which goblins breed- attributed to their juvenile nature and their need to replace their combatants en mass. They are mischievous and malign by nature, but are often kept in check by their own cowardice; however, through groupthing they can be easily motivated to pose a very serious threat. Goblins actively seek whatever unfair advantage they can get their hands on, and often plan treacherous ambushes as adept climbers and hiders. Those who are able to think clearly often become roguish bSneaks/b, while those also able to articulate their clarity ascend to roles of leadership. Goblins possess their own language, but are for the most part much less fluent in Common; some are not even fluent in goblin. Boss Maul/King Kinsbane, lord of the goblin tribes – See History The Goblin Hierarchy – For decades the goblin Bosses had been at eachother’s throats, trying to seize power from one another and from their superiors; because of this practice, the goblin hordes could never truly be united, and any attacks on human settlements were little more than randomized raids. King Kinsbane essentially played this system so hard that he broke it entirely- becoming indomitable outright. The goblin hordes are now unified under him, but have lost interest in humanity having claimed a kingdom for their own. The only goblins remaining on the surface are the Bosses gunning for his #2 seat, whose attacks are still considered randomized raids. The Onager Ogres – It was no exaggeration when I’d mentioned the ogres’ surrender. In his way to becoming king, Maul had single handedly bested an Ogre chieftain in a grappling match, claiming his tribe’s servitude in exchange for his life. The ogres were skilled with throwing heavy rocks, and Maul used them to man the siege engines of his army. They were treated well, alleviating much animosity. The Fall of Khalem and the Infiltration of Taelarys – In exchange for settling a personal rivalry (permanently,) a one nobleman d'Rawls turned a blind eye to Shriek's army and allowed him to sneak into the sewers of a district he had lordship over. The army has now mapped out a small region of the underbelly of Taelarys and has found itself a niche with which to establish a base of operations. They wait patiently in their shadows for further commands. The Goblin Sorcerers – While goblins are often too dim-witted to suit as wizards, the sheer number of them increases the odds of sorcery manifesting within one’s bloodline. Boss Shriek is an offshoot of one of these bloodlines; however, seeing as how I have run out of advantages, we will assume he is absolutely terrible at this. =)